Cliffhanger
by Thorn In Your Side
Summary: God, another awful title. -ahem- right, the summary. Naruto hangs onto life by a thread. A vine, actually. Can Sasuke save him? If when he does, will he realize that maybe they're more than just friends? SasuNaru.


Cliffhanger

**Disclaimer: don't own Naruto, please don't sue. **

**Random A/N: Why do I associate this one-shot with 'Sugar We're Going Down Swinging'?? Also, this is slightly AU. Sasuke's back home, they're jounin, but he still has his curse seal. O.O**

**Summary: Naruto clings to life by a thread…can Sasuke save him? And will he finally realize that maybe they're not just friends? SasuNaru. **

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

Sasuke scrambled to the cliff edge, praying desperately that his teammate hadn't fallen off.

He hadn't.

Naruto clung to life by one hand around a tender young vine of some unknown species, his other arm dangling uselessly at his side, broken. Sasuke cursed, and turned around. The army was advancing slowly, steadily. There were too many too fight alone, far too many. They had their quarry trapped.

He looked over the edge again. "Naruto!" he yelled, "Do you trust me?"

"What kind of a question is that? Who would I trust if not you, idiot?!" Naruto retorted angrily.

"Just answer it!" Sasuke bellowed, painfully aware of the approaching army, and his depleted chakra levels.

Naruto looked up into the man's eyes. Black fathomless pools of ferocity glared back. Sasuke had lost so much…he would never lose Naruto.

"I do! I trust you!" the kyuubi jinchuuriki called over the sounds of the rain, their enemy's march.

Sasuke nodded. "Let go!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed. "The hell!"

"Let go damn it!"

Naruto gulped down his fear, squeezed his eyes shut, and lost his grip on the vine. Immediately, a scream built up in his throat, and clawed its way out as his body instinctively fought the fall.

Sasuke took a deep breath, begged whatever higher being watching him for mercy, for this to work, and jumped. As he jumped, he let rage consume him, urging the tattered remains of his energy to the curse seal. It activated, the flame pattern creeping over his face. He forced his eyes to stay open against the wind, pushing himself closer to level 2…but not too soon—first he angled himself, spreading his limbs, towards Naruto, who had his eyes shut tight. Closer…closer…now!

The magnificent, scaly wings unfurled from his back, drastically slowing their descent at the same moment that he caught the blond, pressing him close to his chest. They began to gently slope towards the river, and Sasuke fought to stay conscious, but the strain of all the fighting brushed aside his resistance.

As the darkness claimed him, Sasuke's last thought was that Naruto would figure out a way.

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His eyes snapped open as he felt strong arms encircle him.

"Sasuke…"

He looked down. The river in the ravine didn't look half as frightening now. Sasuke had saved their lives.

The kyuubi carrier's eyes widened as Sasuke's grip on him slackened. His right arm tightened around the raven haired man's waist just in time, and as he lost consciousness, Sasuke's curse seal faded—taking with it his wings.

"Shit," Naruto swore, "Shit, shit, shit, shit…"

Okay, Sasuke had been smart enough to think of this, and now it was Naruto's turn to be resourceful. Think, think…only a few seconds before they hit the water…

"Tajuu: Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled, making the seal by letting Sasuke go and bringing his right arm to his nearly useless left, just about forcing the fingers into a seal.

The clones cushioned their fall, but nonetheless, Naruto's broken arm felt the impact. The bunshins began disappearing, and the original grabbed Sasuke's arm as the jounin rushed by. The river took hold properly as the last doppelganger dematerialized with a loud poof. Try as he might, Naruto couldn't fight the current, so he let it whip him along, waiting for calmer waters, worrying about Sasuke's ability to breathe, gripping the Uchiha tightly, grateful for not having fainted.

The waters chose that moment to thrust him violently against a rock. Red erupted across Naruto's vision, Kyuubi roared for his power to be used, but it was too late…the darkness claimed Naruto eagerly, and his fingers lost contact with Sasuke's wrist.

"Sasuke…"

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"Over there!"

"I see him!"

"Sai, can you—"

"Already done, ugly dog."

A great ink bird swooped down and pulled a very wet lump of clothes out of the river, hidden in which was, of course, Naruto.

The jinchuuriki groaned, a sense of pain threatening to overwhelm him.

"He needs a blood transfusion…"

"Maybe I should apply CPR?"

Sai…CPR…

"Aw hell no!" he yelled, coming awake properly. Sai stood over him, a suspicious twinkle in his eye, and Sakura had his head in her lap, finishing up the bandaging. She tutted, and he took the warning to fall silent. But a thought struck him… "Where's Sasuke?"

Sakura frowned. "Kaka-sensei and Yamato-taichou are looking for him. Team Gai is also here…don't worry. They'll find him. Now lie still while I do a blood transfusion, you've lost a lot."

"Whose…?" Naruto squinted distrustingly at the crimson liquid that was in the clear pouch.

"Sai…_**volunteered**_."

The artist scoffed. "As if. My blood was the only type matching yours, dickless, and she practically attacked me for it."

"Sasuke-kun has been found!" Lee declared into the kunoichi's headset before she could respond, loud enough for Naruto to hear. He leapt up. "Where?!"  
"Downstream," Sakura reported, scowling, "But you're staying—"

Naruto was already out of earshot.

"—Here?"

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"Sasuke!"

The red eyed warrior looked up, and smiled. "Hiya, dobe. Looks like you've gotten smarter, or stronger, or both. I'm still alive."

Naruto fell into him, hugging hard. "I thought…when I lost you in the current…I thought…"

"I can guess what you thought," Sasuke said gently, tilting the blond's teary face upwards, brushing his lips against the blue eyes. "But it's okay. _**I'm**_ okay."

Kakashi and Yamato exchanged a significant glance and moved away to give them some privacy. Naruto kissed him, fiercely, possessively.

"Dobe…" Sasuke pulled away for a second, "I love you."

"I know. And stop calling me that."  
Sasuke grinned. "Not in this lifetime, dobe, and probably not in the next either."

Naruto threw his arms around the Uchiha and tousled his hair roughly, lovingly. "If that's the way you want it," he whispered, and kissed him again.

**x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x**

**We're going down, down/ in an earlier round/ and sugar we're going down swinging/ I'll be your number one with a bullet/ a loaded God-complex/ cock it and pull it! XD No seriously...why that song, of all things...T.T**


End file.
